Born to be Yours
by Itzy Strange
Summary: Bane has her, he has Claire... but Claire isn't Claire anymore. She's broken.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC**

**Born to be Yours is the sequel to Born to be Bred. Please read that first.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Everything had been prepared, extraction flawless.

Huddled on his lap, her body surrounded by his coat, slept an Omega that was his. The shock of the ice water she'd handled well; the way she'd slept once he had her, a sign she felt safe. Not once had the purr faltered, it projected powerfully so Claire might continue her rest and Bane might take the time to inspect her further.

The bridge of her nose, last he'd seen, had been badly broken. While she convalesced doctors had set it, but a sharp eye could see the slightest bump. A large finger traced over the flaw, going next to circle the socket of her eye. That had healed well, no permanent mark remaining from the orbital fracture.

A small whimper in sleep, Claire turned her face toward his chest and inhaled deeply.

Across from him a woman read through pages of a chart, quick fingers flipping quietly. "Severe PTSD - improvement nominal. Her list of medications has altered since our last update. She is on a great deal of sedatives, some of which are highly addictive."

"She will be given whatever she needs," Bane ordered, cautious to keep his voice low.

Dr. Osin looked up from the pages. "There is a list of twice daily experimental injections here, dosage increasing weekly. Considering the cocktail of medications, I cannot foresee the side effects of abruptly ending an unknown treatment. Possible withdrawal may make her ill. She will have to be carefully monitored."

Bane glared, certain the woman's voice was disruptive to Claire. "Leave us."

"As she is still fully medicated, I suggest you mate her the moment she wakes. It will be better to have it over with rather than something she ruminates over. Anticipate fear." The old woman was already standing, spine ramrod as she exited the forward cabin of their plane to join the soldiers in the cockpit.

It had been almost a year. Mounting his mate in the cargo hold of an aircraft was not exactly the elegant treatment she deserved, but there was wisdom in Dr. Osin's suggestion. It was something Bane had already considered himself, and it needed to be done. Transition would be easier if the bandage were ripped off, so to speak.

A quantity of blankets had been prepared, set in a quasi-nest in case she'd needed such a comfort. Bane woke her with the growl, Claire dazed when her body automatically responded and slick flowed. The instant he parted the jacket from her body her eyes went wide and the Omega startled.

Her end of the link frayed, buzzing in panic when an Alpha pressed her down to something soft and held her there under his weight.

"Shhhhhh," Bane cooed, trying hard to resonate properly for her so Claire would recognize that he was not going to hurt her. "Spread your legs for me, little one."

It was as Dr. Osin had claimed, Claire was frightened. "Bane..."

The Alpha growled again, calling to her to remember what was theirs. Slick dripped, Claire's breath short and shallow. Bane had his member in hand, still clothed when his thighs pushed hers to open. It wasn't the romantic coupling she deserved; it couldn't be. The initial thrust, looking her right in the eye, Bane found her almost as tight as the first time, and knew without estrous it was uncomfortable for her. For ages he did little more than slowly stretch her, pressing his cock in and waiting, stroking and petting, calling her beautiful while she trembled and endured it.

Bane knew the secret places of her body, teased and rolled her clit, all the while speaking to her as one speaks to a frightened animal. It took time, but she grew excited, the little Omega's pupils blown when she relaxed her pelvic floor and let him in.

Bottoming out, Bane moaned.

The noise excited her further. Bane withdrew, her hips followed, wordlessly asking for more. It was a gentle rocking, cautious, and only for her pleasure. Pumping into a willing body, feeling her cunt squeeze him so tight - remembering the look on her face as she crossed the ice to answer his call - Bane could not have loved her more in that moment. He brought her to climax, calling out his own long needed release once the knot began to swell and his seed surged deep into Claire's belly.

While they were joined she touched his face, the mask, as if he could not be real. "They told me you were dead. Why did you make me wait so long?"

He wasn't going to lie to her. "You needed to heal."

Claire wiggled, the knot something she had not borne in ages, and he had to catch her hip and hold her so she wouldn't harm herself.

"They wanted me to accept another Alpha."

Murder was written on the man's face. Grey eyes smoldered, his hips snapped, and the knot was pressed even deeper. "You are mine. No other male will ever touch you."

His anger was reassuring, Bane's feelings absolute in their link. Claire held on to it, on to every scrap of anything she could get from him. "Are they going to come looking for me?"

"No," Bane nuzzled her cheek, the tubes of his mask lightly scraping over her skin. "You no longer need to worry over such things."

For the first time, Claire realized she didn't want to know; she did not need to know what he'd done to get her. She knew enough horrible things already. "I can't ever go back there."

There, was Gotham. Bane knew it and understood. "Never."

Encased in the arms of her lost mate, warm, the purr pouring into her, Claire started to cry, "I can't do that again. I can't, Bane."

The largeness of his palm cupped her face, a thumb swiping tears. "Quiet down, little one. It's over now."

How could she be so happy and so heartbroken? "I watched you die."

"No, Claire," The tortured look in his eyes was nothing to the pain she felt on his end of their link. "_I_ watched _you _die." With the mask damaged he'd been able to do nothing _but _watch. He'd watched his lieutenant administer CPR, the man bleeding from a bullet through the torso. He'd laid there as Barsad pulled tubing from his flak jacket and hastily slapped together a direct blood transfusion, the Beta pumping her heart until his own stopped. Then police had stormed in and dragged his Claire away.

Still, Bane had been able to do nothing but fight a broken rib cage for breath and try to reach a hand to her. When she was taken his eyes closed. The next he woke he was in League custody and Claire was in a fortress on a ventilator.

All reports claimed she was too damaged, that she would not survive - just as his son had not survived. He had raged before his caretakers. Once alone he'd wept like a child.

But Claire hadn't died; she was too stubborn by half – even if the people wanted her blood. While laying savaged in the ICU, Gotham - her Gotham - had made her into a villain. The very people she'd fought for spat her name as a curse. Bane wanted to hate them, but he could find no room; his hate for Talia was too consuming.

Her death in the car crash had been a mercy she did not deserve.

Laying beneath him, Claire could see so much in the expression above the mask, but found the link too much to bear. In a whisper she confessed, "I don't want to know."

And the light changed. Bane was showing her love. He looked at her as if she were precious, the purr strong. That was all she wanted, that look forever. The knot felt less invasive, the ache in her body bearable. Where her legs shivered from the tension of spreading, she strove to relax them.

Bane saw the effort on her end, pleased she was trying. "Sleep, little one. Soon we will be home and our life will begin. You have no need to fear, you'll see."

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><p>Warm... soft...<p>

The nest was too comfortable to leave. Who would want to leave a place so safe? A place her mate shared where no one would dare to touch. The windows' light almost seemed intrusive, a part of Claire longing for the dark and solitude of the underground where she had been safer than she'd realized.

All it had cost her was her freedom and her sense of self.

What good was freedom now? No, the nest was best. Whatever the bedding was made of she could not say, but it felt like velvet and there was enough to burrow as deep as she wanted. If she was careful, if it was dark enough, and Bane was beside her to hold on to, it seemed there would be no bad dreams in that nest.

They had arrived only the night before, the pitch black showing her little of her home. Bane carried her because he preferred it, because the nearness of armed Alpha strangers made her nervous. There were gates with armed guards, and high walls. Then Bane had to pry her off so he might bathe her, rubbing where her fingers had grown swollen she'd held to him so hard.

The shower was far grander than the one they'd shared before, but Claire noticed little, severely uncomfortable with the idea of Bane seeing her naked - which she knew was foolish. He stood before her, stripped bare and still beautiful - the perfect Alpha specimen. But she was sickly, scarred, and she didn't want him to see. He seemed not to notice when he tugged at the coat, giving her no chance to refuse. If grey eyes caught where cruel nails had marred her hips, if that weighty gaze ran over bites from men who were not her mate, or stich marks from closed incisions, she didn't see. Claire kept her eyes closed, her arms tight around her middle.

But then there was warm water washing the smell of the lake from her hair, warm hands massaging in shampoo just like she remembered, and she grew pliant; the man's understanding of the human body could be a wondrous thing. Bane knew where to knead, which bones to press, and just how to draw a hum from Claire.

He was happy. She felt it sing through the link.

Her arm slipped about his waist, her face to his chest so the Alpha could finish a ritual he had always enjoyed.

There had been moments like this in the past that had been theirs no matter what was going on beyond them. In Gotham, Claire chose to disregard them, to ignore them out of anger. After Gotham she had fought to remember each nugget of secret peace, clinging to them like a life raft. It was surreal to be living it, to stand in the comfort of the shower where there was no need to feel guilt for enjoying it.

"I like this."

Bane was very pleased. "I can see that, little one."

The shower had been nice, the nest was better. Everything smelled of Bane, signaling her system she could rest there. The usual torture of searching for sleep was driven off by it. He was there, she wasn't lonely. He purred and pet, and nightmares only woke her twice.

That's how she knew it was real. Even with Bane there beside her she was terrified in the dark.

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><p>The question of sex was a complicated one. The act of fucking was healthy for Alphas and Omegas, essential to the bond; some would even argue chemically necessary. She had slept almost two days upon arrival, waking only when forced so Bane could press her to eat and swallow medication. The schedule was important, and he knew Claire had a tendency toward escapism should he not enforce it.<p>

He'd held her, let her sleep, and had not tried to initiate penetration again no matter how hard he was or how much he ached to bed her. She would be skittish, had not really enjoyed the first time beyond the compelled orgasm, and needed a reminder that physical pleasure was permissible.

He gave her forty eight hours. When her time was up there was one injection and the mask was removed. Bane burrowed under the covers, she hardly moved. But when his tongue swiped right between her legs, exactly the way he knew she loved best, his Claire woke with a stifled cry. He delved deeper, flicking about inside her as she squirmed.

"You are perfect here."

He gave her no time to think on his words, Bane moving to suck and tongue her swelling nub so his fingers might explore where she seeped slick. It was almost easy to gorge himself, sucking up all she offered, nipping just enough for her thighs to spread obscenely. Over and over he met her eyes, watched her pant for him as her hips jerked. He let her come that way, where she was stuffed full of only his fingers, his tongue frantically licking at her clit.

"Bane!"

She had not called his name on the plane. Hearing it drew a growl of approval, and a large Alpha prowling over her. Where she shied he grunted, his erection heavy against her thigh. That first taste of her mouth, the flavor of her pussy still on his tongue, was bliss.

He surged in, hips snapping to sheath fully in one swoop. Claire's breath hitched. He fucked in again, she gasped.

"Touch me, little one."

Her body was twisted, one leg straight, one hooked on Bane's arm. She was pinned where they fit together, unable to rock her hips or wriggle away. Green eyes remained locked on the veined rod, seeing it disappear inside her, watching it retreat wet with her fluid. She didn't move.

Bane took her hand, aware she had not heard him, and put it on his face. "Touch me, little one."

Her eyes left his cock to see him excited, grey eyes burning the harder he penetrated. His scarred cheek was smooth under her fingers, puckered near her thumb. His neck was still thickly muscled, but what caught her attention, what made him hers, were the claiming marks she traced while Bane fought himself not to rear and pound.

"Claire, kiss me there."

She wanted to, wanted to scrape her teeth on her mark. A heat grew in her belly, a sense of possession that tightened her cunt and made her want to engage. As if Bane knew, he let her leg free, rewarding good behavior with swirling grinds of his pelvis where friction would only make her croon. The second her teeth locked on, Claire came, lapping at the taste of him, sucking to leave a mark.

Jets of come, the swelling knot, the Omega's back arched and Bane's mouth locking onto her nipple. Everything inside him wanted to fill her up. Another rush of his seed bathed her insides, Claire's head turning side to side as she panted his name.

His tongue moved to her ear, Bane demanding as he gushed again, "Tell me you love me, little one."

Breathless, still clenching around an organ offering pleasure she'd forgotten, Claire panted, "I love you."

Bane bit her shoulder, breaking skin.

He flipped them over so the little blood he'd drawn would drip from her to him. So she could rest her ear to his heart while the knot held her tied. So he could tell her things he knew she would not want to hear where she was most comfortable.

"You have a schedule here, Claire, responsibility to pick up where you left off at Elysium."

He had her in the mating high, he had her drugged on his seed. He did not have her compliance. "No."

"In the morning hours you meet with Dr. Osin."

"No."

"Afternoons may be spent as you wish, but therapy is not an option. I have given your doctor leave to enter this house at will - even this room - should you think to avoid the work you must do. You will find that she is not a woman who will allow you to slack."

Feeling anger toward Bane was something far too familiar. "You are still a bully, but you have nothing you can force me with now."

He gripped her hair and pulled her head so she might meet his eye. There was no softness in his words. "I love you, and you need to recover fully. You cannot live your life hiding in this nest. I won't allow it."

She wanted to make a cutting remark about his hypocrisy, but those eyes held hers and old guilt came instead to make her lip tremble. More commands were given, Bane outlining the life she would have should she recognize all he offered.

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><p><strong>The winner of the story naming contest is... drum roll please... Chushingura! I received a lot of great ideas, loved them all, it was really really hard to choose. <strong>

**This was one-hundred percent written for you. I had not intended to do a follow up after Born to be Bred but so many of you reached out to me asking/begging/pleading for more. How could I deny readers who had been so faithful and kind? I couldn't. I love you too much!**

**This is only the beginning of a novella. Though the first segment was short, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you are looking forward to more. Poor Claire and Bane won't have it easy right out the gate. How could they?**

**And what of everyone else from Gotham?**

**Please review (what are you hoping to see?) and don't forget to follow so you get every last update!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

What once had been a bunker was now light drenched rooms, spacious, each room filled with items Claire was certain Bane had little to no interest in - unless he saw her interest. If she touched something, he seemed to memorize the movement, looking to see if she admired or disliked.

In those first days, things vanished, paintings on the walls replaced, or a rug shifted so subtly she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it. A chair was added near a window she preferred to stand at. She didn't understand the effort behind Bane's silent undertaking. Sometimes it made her feel like a bug in a jar, the way he watched, the way he read into every breath she took.

Unsure if he was waiting for some confirmation, Claire ran a hand over the Oriental rug she lounged on. "This is very pretty."

She wasn't facing him, her last hour spent flipping through a magazine; pages had been cut out before it was left for her to read. Still, she could feel his eyes on the back of her head, feel the way he leaned on the link to see inside her.

"You are very pretty, little one."

If she shifted back an inch or two, her head could rest on his knee. Claire was tempted to, knowing he'd immediately thread his fingers in her hair. But that was not what Bane wanted; he wanted her to look at him.

Claire hesitated, her attention going to the window instead. The sun was setting; there had been a light snow, dusting the dormant plants within the tall walls surrounding _her garden_. _Her house. Her things. _But they were all still too new to feel like they belonged to her.

It was too much like Elysium with its paned windows, paneled walls, and fine furnishings.

The home was an anomaly, one where she never saw another soul aside from Bane. Whoever cleaned, whoever tended the restocking of the fridge and cabinets, Claire could only imagine. Her meals were still prepared by some unseen chef, and brought to her by Bane. Rich food, with heavy sauces, just like he'd fed her when she'd been hardly more than bones. As if their ritual had never altered, he sat with her as she ate, he talked to her. Bane had even adapted, curbing his need to force compliance, to instead coerce by asking questions.

"Why won't you look at me, Claire?"

The purr, the stroke down her hair, and Claire felt the smile physically before her muted emotions caught up. Peeking over her shoulder, turning to rest her cheek on his knee, she gave Bane all her attention. Green eyes - soft, as she was so comfortable - ran over the man, from his utilitarian sweater to cargo pants. Under her hand she stroked his ankle, feeling the boots laced up, the ends of his trousers tucked in. "I should paint you again."

The way the skin besides his eyes crinkled, Claire knew the man was smirking under the mask. "If you like."

Leaning fully against a thick leg, Claire hummed, "I could paint you with my eyes closed."

"I have seen photographs of the wall in your bedroom at Elysium." His finger traced over her lips. "I was very flattered."

He was referring to the wall papered with grey eyes in every expression beside her bed. Mention of it took her smile away. That smattering of watercolors had been a memorial, a way to show how horribly desolate she felt without her mate.

The man sitting on the fine couch purred louder. Not only because of the sharp stab of sorrow that altered her expression, but because there was something at his end of the link he was trying to conceal from her. Bane remained steady while she was still unstable, he did everything in his power to maintain a front, but she could see the gnawing guilt. Even more, she felt memory of his intense loneliness. She had mourned, and he had borne it while fragmented from the bond. An Alpha did not function well without direct influence over its Omega – they _needed_ to be near.

"Was it hard for you?" She wasn't even sure why she asked when she already knew.

He was frowning - agitated; Claire could feel it. The rumbled reply of, "Being separated from you was necessary," was a poor explanation. But she understood. Bane had sacrificed his wellbeing. He'd had only a strained link, and he'd paced - as she had once paced - because he had to to keep from going mad in the prison his failure had built.

Bane looked at the Omega nestling closer, the one who shut her eyes so she might enjoy the tug of his fingers in her hair. Not once in the time he'd known her, not once had he had Claire in a state where she'd been happy for more than a fleeting moment. This house was hers; under the last snow of winter was a garden waiting for her to admire. Green dresses he'd chosen, rooms full of distractions and items to tempt her attention.

Looking at his slender mate, Bane saw deeper than the dark marks under her eyes. He saw further than nails she'd chewed to stubs. In Gotham he'd manipulated and forced her into physical health. He would do it again.

The rest would progress in time.

"You want me to tell you I love you," Sleepy, Claire mumbled against his thigh, knowing how to sooth the concern Bane tried to hide. "I do."

"Do you?" There was never a day he regretted forcing her into a pair bond. It was the only way he would have ever won the female's affections. The reward was perfect, dominating such a creature sublime. Reaching down, he pulled her to fit on his lap, pleased when she nosed his neck. "Clever little one, do not think I'll let you off with flattery and sweet words. You promised to make me dinner; don't nap too long."

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><p>Nestled deep under the covers, Claire woke alone. She knew that if she stepped out of the nest, if she tiptoed to the window, she would find him. Whatever mess she had made of the garden, he tried to repair when she slept, uprooting plants she'd over-pruned and replacing them, as if his mate wouldn't notice.<p>

It was sweet, in Bane's strange way. It was also true that if he didn't put in the_ secret_ effort everything would have died weeks ago.

She had once told him she wanted a garden, windows too.

Now she had both.

He had made his own promises, ones she wanted nothing to do with; a grand new world.

_Claire, what happened in Gotham?_

It was the same question every day. This grand new world, if it even existed, was unknown to her. Much of the last year at Elysium a blur, what happened before a nightmare, and its toll had been taken. She wasn't Claire O'Donnell anymore.

The venue had changed from Sanitarium to wherever their home was, but the schedule remained the same: medication, therapy, painting, music.

A beautiful piano was downstairs, a black grand she could play in the sunlight while surrounded by a view of the mountains. But she was only allowed to play after she answered the question: _what happened in Gotham?_

Everyone knew what had happened in Gotham. Dr. Osin knew. It was insulting that she had to sit across from the old woman and face that question every day.

Her psychologist's hair was salt and pepper, steely, her form wiry and strong. There was nothing soft about Dr. Osin - she was a league soldier, after all. One, Claire was certain, who must resent the assignment of tending to the leader's broken mate.

"What happened in Gotham, Claire?"

"A lot of people died."

"Who killed them?"

"I did."

"Because of this?" The flyer, aged and creased, was slid across the coffee table between them.

Claire didn't want to touch it. "I hate Gotham." Her throat was tight, the space behind her eyes burned. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Dr. Osin was not about to cut her some slack. "What happened in Gotham, Claire?"

That question made her heart pound painfully, it made the thought of food horrid. Anxiety, panic - more than the sedatives could manage - would hit her hard every time she heard it.

She had to give an answer or the doctor would keep asking. A small voice said, "Nothing good happened in Gotham."

The notepad was set aside. "We will continue tomorrow."

But it wasn't just tomorrow; it was every day.

Claire pulled the covers from her head, unwilling to pretend to sleep any longer. The comfort of the nest was not enough if Bane was not in it to cuddle with. There were walls around her new home - walls within walls within walls. So many, she could walk outside and be assured no one would bother her, that she was safe.

Bane's grand new world... at least the little she knew of it.

Pulling on a robe the same shade of green as the fir trees which grew in the surrounding woods, Claire crept down the stairs, pulled open the door, and went to him. Bane had known she was coming. Though he stood nowhere near her garden, the telltale grit was still under his fingernails when she took his hand.

"Where are your shoes, little one?"

The question brought a sleepy smile, Claire leaning against his arm to watch the sunrise. "Would you like me to make you breakfast?"

He was purring, whatever had stirred up her insides forgotten at the sound of it. "I would. And then we walk."

She liked the walks, just the two of them in the woods.

Bane's breakfast was easy. One big blender filled with protein powder, raw eggs, nut butter, and whatever else he needed to supplement his system. Making it for him wasn't even a chore. Claire would put in a little cinnamon, or cocoa powder, but she was certain it still tasted awful, teasing him about his _one restriction_.

He would suck it down through a straw, Claire making a point of not staring, while she gathered her small meal. She didn't like to eat much in the morning - he knew that now - usually a boiled egg, toast, and some coffee. Medication was next, waiting on the island counter between them. Bane would watch her poke at the AM set, already presorted for her by another: antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedatives, a heat suppressant, a vitamin.

Seeing them made her unhappy. She didn't show it, but Bane could feel it through their link.

Her regimen had been tailored at Elysium and watched with a hawk's eye by Dr. Osin. Even though there had been no major meltdowns in the short months since Bane had brought her home, there was still so much to swallow.

Claire always took the little blue pill first, before she ate a bite. The rest were portioned as her meal progressed. Vitamin last.

"I love you, Claire O'Donnell."

Green eyes stopped brooding on the Monday-Sunday medication container to look at the man across the counter. There was a band on his left ring finger; she wore one too. "O'Donnell isn't my name any longer, Bane."

Though he was purring his words were a bit hard. "I never had a surname, you know that."

"If you are only Bane then I am only Claire. I'll take the nothing at the end."

Large fingers stroked her jaw. "What of our future children, only Claire?"

And just like that the moment was ruined, she fought to keep her food down, to keep herself from crying.

_What happened in Gotham, Claire?_

For just a moment she looked up at Bane... and hated him.

* * *

><p>They missed their walk that day, Bane far more focused on fucking his despondent mate back into a state of tranquility. He had to be careful. There were rules now, because others had hurt her. He couldn't take her from behind; she had to be able to see him so she might not panic, might not be in a position to suffer a flashback. Aggression had to be severely moderated.<p>

Bane still made certain to dominate her though, because that's what she needed when she was scared.

The first time they'd joined after reuniting, she'd been terrified. It wasn't fear of Bane, it was just the unlanced poison stuck inside her from everything she'd survived and all she'd lost. After waking in the new nest - after the rules were broadcasted - he'd mounted her again, over and over, until she'd fallen into a dreamless sleep, voice hoarse from crying out his name.

Bane did not let her out of his sight for even a moment the first three weeks. The routine deviated little from what had been theirs in the Gotham underground. If he could be inside her he was. She hardly stepped outside, though she could if she wished to.

Claire had a studio to paint in, a computer should she wish to write, and had been told - more times than she could count - that all she had to do was ask for something and it would be acquired.

"Are there other Omegas here?"

Bane was dead serious. "Would you like me to procure some?"

Her lip twitched, "Are you going to round up friends for me?"

"There is a team in place to see to your recovery and companionship; it can be augmented with Omegas if you need them."

"No, Bane. You can't just _procure_ Omegas. That would not make me happy. It would make me angry." A year and he hadn't changed at all. Claire hesitated to ask, "What about the Omegas... from Blackgate?"

The way the Alpha looked at her, Claire was not certain if he was intrigued she had asked after the females or angered. "Those who betrayed you will never be allowed near again. I would not even allow them to return to this continent."

She should have known better. After chewing her lip she asked, "Are they well?"

"They are settled with their mates. Several have children."

The conversation was over, Bane having used the one word that was guaranteed to shut her down. Before she could slip back into her medicated daze, Bane pushed just a little more, "Would you like proof of my claim?"

"No." Maybe... "I believe you."

"The children could be brought here."

"You can't separate them from their mothers!" She was awake again and very angry he would even suggest such a thing. "Swear to me you won't."

Large arms crossed over his chest, Bane challenging, "Their fathers could escort them so you might meet them, but yes, the mothers would be left behind."

"Pictures would prove your point. Asking your men to come here so I can see babies is ridiculous."

"I do not ask my men anything. I order and they obey." Bane stepped closer, menacing. "Do you understand that, Claire? I could demand anything, anything at all, and they are bound to do it. You like children. You could learn their names, write books for them."

He was annoying her with his grandiosity. "You make yourself sound like a king-"

Bane growled, "I am greater than a king. Or have you forgotten? I brought ruin to the greatest city on the planet. It was easy..."

The words were heavy on a dumb tongue, "Gotham still stands."

"Limping and fractured. It will never be as it was. The League of Shadows' point was made greater that way. It was best the bomb failed, so the lesson might continue for the world to see."

Claire didn't even know what to do with his words, because there was something dark in the link she would not acknowledge. "Talia destroyed Gotham. It was all her doing."

The revelation was one he'd accepted after Barsad had opened his eyes. Talia had never been the one the men followed, they had always looked to him. Bane made sure Claire heard every word. "No. Everything that was done was my machinations, my leadership. Talia was little more than a figurehead."

Why did that make her feel like she'd been punched in the gut? "What?"

"You can't pretend I am something I am not for the sake of your comforting delusion. I have the title of Demon Head of the League of Shadows now. I hold the position far more firmly than any before me; no one would challenge my authority. Claire, I crippled Gotham, I still keep its citizens struggling, and I will continue to cause that city insidious harm until my dying breath. But I _will_ let it stand, enjoying the show of their scrambling pleas for mercy. I will empower others to hurt it just as I will buoy the infrastructure should it come close to collapse. That city will be hell on earth no matter how pretty the new skyscrapers may be."

She could feel the warm wetness fall down her cheeks. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because I love you."

Had they not been in the confines of their kitchen the whole base would have heard her shriek, "I can't hear this! I don't want to talk about Gotham!"

"Don't be a coward, Claire. Fight me."

It felt like she had crashed under the ice again. Everything just grew cold. "I told you I couldn't do that again... I won't stand for Gotham. That part of me died."

"You know they deserve every torment they will feel."

Old arguments squelched her tears and drew out buried hate. "What's left was what you made. There was good there once."

"The only good thing that ever was in Gotham is standing before me," Bane growled, stepping nearer should she think to run before his lecture was complete. "And she doesn't belong to Gotham anymore. She belongs to me."

"Blake was good." The second it was said Claire wished she hadn't spoken. Then fear hit her hard. "Blake is still alive right? You didn't kill him, did you? Oh my god, Bane, please tell me you didn't!"

"He lives." The giant's fists were clenched tight, his grey eyes burning. "I won't allow him to be killed."

There was something deeper going on; the real reason Bane was orchestrating his attack. "Why?"

"He is their new Batman. He gives the denizens hope where there is none." Bane watched her confusion, watched her try to process something seemingly absurd. "It is true. Bruce Wayne passed the legacy forward to your former compatriot. The people call him 'Nightwing' – a vigilante secretly funded by Wayne Enterprises, of which my League holds majority shares. I keep him armored, I keep him armed. I keep him alive, and clean up when his murders are a bit sloppy."

Claire knew him better than that. "Blake wouldn't kill people. I don't believe you."

"_Batman_ would not kill people. Nightwing embraces the truth of justice - an eye for an eye." Bane sounded almost proud. "He's an improvement over his predecessor."

"What do you think you're doing?" Claire frowned, unsure. "Why are you saying these things?"

He repeated his reason from before, "Because I love you."

"...and you want me to not love my friend? You can't share my affection with those who cared for me when I was alone and scared?"

"He is not what he was, little one. _That _is my point." Bane stood taller, held her chin so she was forced to look. "The fall of Gotham brought out the true heart of everyone. Do not be fooled by his smiles or the flowers he brought you. That goodness was corrupted when you were—"

Her hands flew to her ears, Claire breathing too hard to see straight. "SHUT UP!"

One swipe and the dress was ripped off, a hard cock shoved in with only the counter digging into her back to offer support. Clawing and scratching she ragged at the Alpha, punishing him with bites as he thrust.

Holding her bottom, yanking her body back down when she squirmed away, Bane grunted like a beast, barely able to form the words, "Fight me, little one. Remember."

The initial aggression was all hers, Claire so far gone she hardly noticed how she screamed when all the rage inside her squeezed, cracked, and dumped out like stagnant filth from her heart. The power of her release, she sobbed through it while the violent Alpha used her as he had not since Gotham. Bane was rough, not holding back any of his prowess.

Just when he was about to knot he spun her around, bent Claire over the counter and plunged in from behind. The knot expanded, her legs kicking while Bane roared, "This is your Alpha, your mate! That is who is fucking you!"

Dangling from her awkward position, feeling the cramp of her orgasm milk Bane's cock, she understood. Living in seclusion in the woods, where they walked trails and enjoyed one another, didn't change what he was, or what she was. He needed her to accept all of him, and not pretend while they played house.

He was never going to be easy on her.

Bane twisted her hair in his fist, pulling her neck up so he might dig the mask in and sniff, so his grating purrs would be felt best with her back to his chest. "You are a very good girl, little one. So sweet and so pretty. The way you come around my cock is something that I hunger for, hearing you scream for me my favorite sound. You are _my_ wife, _my_ mate. No time apart could change that. No courting Beta, no estrous, no drugs. You didn't want me, I know that. I enjoyed the challenge, I enjoyed stealing your affection; I enjoyed mating you into oblivion more times that I can count. I'd never let you go. EVER!"

Claire could see his reflection on the front of the stainless steel double oven, could see the man knotting her was Bane, and not a horrible memory, and wondered if he'd plotted the entire conversation just to reach that moment, knowing she would have that reflection should she need it.

Her breath fogged the black marble counter, Bane petting her cheek as he continued his tirade - all of it so she could hear his voice and be still. He kept her there through the entirety of the knot, gauging each fleeting expression.

He'd manipulated her.

She knew it.

There was a flaw in the story he'd told to draw out her anger. "How did Bruce Wayne hand the legacy of Batman to Blake if he is dead?"

Bane growled softly in her ear, "Don't fight the knot, little one. Stop bearing down."

Claire had not noticed her body's rejection and drew a deep breath to regain control. "The counter is cold."

A reassuring pet warmed her from hip to shoulder. "Bruce Wayne lives, Selina Kyle is with him. Both will be left in peace should they continue their wise withdrawal from society."

Claire smiled slightly, "Selina is good?"

"She is not _good_, but I don't believe that is what you were asking," Bane teased. "Selina is happy."

The rest of her tension melted, the Omega humming, "You can be a real prick sometimes, Bane."

The purr magnified, cuddly Alpha settling more over her. "Tell me that you love me."

"I love you." Claire sighed, "Don't break Blake."

Bane's ground his hips against her rear, the Alpha purring, "He was broken long before he'd heard my name. I know a man full of rage when I see one."

"Why do you keep him safe, why did you tell me?"

"Because I love you."

* * *

><p><strong>56 reviews from one chapter! That is a record for me. You should all see the stupid smile on my face.<strong>

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment. I loved reading your thoughts and ideas.**

**Love you guys and gals!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

He had promised her a new world, but standing in it felt strange. Where Gotham, in its glory, had been cramped concrete and crowds, there was little of that in her life anymore. There was nature, rocks, growing things, water. There was even a bizarre civilization, but she mostly avoided the League Soldiers.

Though Bane had not voiced it, Claire knew he would rather keep her separate from his men - too many Alphas coming and going. Twice she had tried to walk into their camp, to see if she could do it. The first time she had hardly crossed the threshold past her house, unable to move further. The second time she walked the quarter mile to their courtyard. Bane had been at a distance, working. He was her goal, her first test of herself in ages.

Those grey eyes had watched her every step, the man having been notified of her approach. When he'd gone still, so had the rest of them - as if they were all infected somehow by her being there. Those first steps ended right past the razor wire topped gates; Claire had frozen, actually immobile, and could not move forward or back. There was some weird limbo, a feeling of wobbling in her belly.

It had been a beautiful day, one of the first in spring. It had also been the second week since she had secretly stopped taking all her medication.

Anxiety was an old ghost, but in those moments - on that first solid try - the ghost had become the devil himself, and Claire could hardly hear over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. Unsure of the expression on her face, all she could think was that it had to be bad for Bane to have made his way to her so quickly.

"Have you come here to see me, little one? There was no need for you to leave the nest to do so. I could have been contacted." Bane's large hand closed over her shoulder, the man frowning under the mask because she had wandered out in only a thin sweater. "I will return you to our home."

"I don't want to go there." But he was already herding her away from the inner workings of his order, shuffling her toward a high walled segment of the base very few would dare to enter.

"Why? Are you displeased with our home?"

Swallowing, Claire felt her legs move because he moved her. "No, Bane. It is a beautiful home." And it was; it was lovely.

"Then why would you come here, little one? Are you lonely, do you require companionship?"

No, she did not want companions. "I do not need a babysitter, Bane. I just wanted to take a walk."

He stopped, his boots suddenly silent, and Bane looked down at the woman held pressed to his side. She hadn't been sleeping and it showed in the dark smears under her eyes. "A walk that has left you badly panicked, Claire."

She was so tempted to bury her nose in his side and let him make her feel better. "I want to be like I was before. I want to feel normal again."

It was almost cruel the way he said, "You are never going to feel the way you did before. You are never going to be who you were before."

He could feel the tumult of emotions raging inside her, the fear growing weaker in place of despair, anger, hate, pain but most of all love. Everything that could be done to fix what hurt her, he was doing. Even her current state he could improve, and did when he pulled off his coat and set it over her shoulders so she might not feel the bite of cold still in the air.

That old challenging look in her green eye reared its head, even though she pulled the warm fabric he'd offered closer. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Claire has been weaning herself off her medication. Three days ago she stopped taking them all together."<p>

"Such a thing is dangerous! Why was I not informed of this?" Bane roared.

"I monitor her closely. This minor rebellion is good for her. She is trying to regain a modicum of control in her life." Doctor Osin was at attention, facing her enraged commanding officer, and not flinching even a little.

"Yet now she hardly sleeps, has an aversion to food. Moreover, it is your job to make her know she can come to me and feel no need for subversion; this _exasperates _what troubles her."

The older woman had been with the League long before he had been dumped into the Pit. "The side-effects will pass. But you disrupted her progress by ushering her away the moment she grew scared. Claire was in no danger and needs to learn the proper time and place for fear without the crutch of sedation. Next time, if she pushes her boundaries and requires comfort, you wait for her to walk to you. Secondly, confronting her about the medication would be unwise. Say nothing. Build trust."

Bane had a great dislike for the old woman. "Should you be wrong and she grows unhappy, I will kill you and replace you. It will not be an easy death."

The threat did not unsettle one grey hair on Dr. Osin's head.

Maybe there was a silver lining. Angry, yet hopefully, Bane asked, "Has she also ceased taking her heat suppressant?"

"No, sir. Those are diligently swallowed morning and night."

How he hated those little blue pills.

Bane left the psychiatrist and entered the enclosure around the home he'd had built for his mate. Claire was in her garden, ripping at plants, painfully unskilled in their keeping. Before he could even address her, she glared over her shoulder and snapped, "I'm not taking all those drugs anymore, alright. I _will _feel normal again. I want to be able to focus and carry on a conversation without getting confused. When you tell me you love me I want to be able to feel it!"

Her unsolicited honesty kept him silent. Bane took a seat on the nearby bench and nodded. She was so angry with him. It came over her some days and burned Bane on his end of the link, but she had never once vocalized her feelings. She didn't have to; he could read her like a book. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedatives kept that feeling blurred under medicinal apathy, but it blazed with no chemicals flowing through her bloodstream. And with her fury was twice as much guilt.

But the guilt was his. "Everything was my fault."

Her trowel jammed hard into the earth, Claire oddly comforted that he knew her insides were a mess. She did not speak of Gotham, not with him, not with Dr. Osin. Any reminder set her off. "You were right. I can't be who I was."

"You can be something else."

She was only one thing now. "I suppose I am. I am your wife now."

The modest band was dirty from her work in her garden, but Bane's eyes found pleasure in seeing it on her finger, because the title was one that mattered to her. She'd mentioned many times in the past, her dream of her future _husband_; he'd spoken her culture's vows to please her. "You are, little one. My wife and mate. You are also a sub-par gardener."

Claire laughed, her eyes glittering as the rage dwindled and amusement seeped in. "Maybe I'd be a better soldier."

"You would not."

His teasing made her laugh again. When the sound faded, her changeful emotions found momentary neutrality. "I'm going to go running on that trail in the woods where we walk."

"I will accompany you."

"I don't want you to. I want to run by myself."

It was very difficult for Bane to remain silent and trust Dr. Osin's advice. "Do not forget to wear a windbreaker. It is still very cold."

An hour later, Claire sprinted down the wooded path until her body shook from exertion, and she'd loved every minute of it. She'd panted heavily and bent over, near vomiting. She did the same the next day, then the next. She ran as fast as she could, darting through trees, jumping over rocks. She ran until it hurt.

That distracting pain was preferable to the ache she couldn't shake.

Bane had her shadowed each time, attempting more than once to do so himself, but Claire was too fast. So when reports came back, weeks later, of how she'd stopped in her run - how she'd sobbed, her hand pressed over her womb - he'd just about strangled Dr. Osin but released the old woman's throat before more than bruises would result.

Claire had returned home, oblivious. She'd prepared dinner for them. She'd smiled and been happy. And then she reached for his belt buckle and went to her knees.

* * *

><p>"What did it feel like the first time you saw him?"<p>

Another aggravating morning with Dr. Osin. They had been doing this for months, going through the motions, wasting one another's time. "The snow... he was hard to see. I _felt_ him, heard him calling. Bane was smiling."

There was a pause. "So you walked over the ice."

"You already know I did."

"I do. Which is why I asked you what you felt the _first_ time you saw Bane."

There was a twitch Claire could not suppress, a tightening around her mouth. "I was cold."

"Was it snowing?"

Claire could hardly put voice behind her answer, "No."

"You were frightened."

"Yes."

"Tell me why."

And this is where the session would dead-end. Claire was stubborn and Gotham was a time she would not think of. "Why do you think?"

The old woman spoke directly, "He is dangerous. Larger than you. Violent. Intelligent."

Claire could not help but agree. "He didn't look at me when I asked for a moment of his time."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. He saved me..." Claire shook her head and amended, "I thought he saved me. He used me."

"In estrous?"

"I _hate_ estrous." All of them had been disastrous, terrifying, or a weakness she could not defend herself from.

The woman adjusted her glasses and looked up from her notes. "I am an Alpha, my deceased mate Omega. Estrous is a thing we experienced roughly three times a year. It was celebrated."

"You're a female Alpha. It's different."

"He feared estrous initially too. Male Omegas are one in a million. I found him in a rural village. I took him."

Claire sneered. "You're a bitch."

"He did love to call me that. He also loved me, greatly."

Green eyes moved from the sliver of wall she chose to stare at during these talks to fix directly on her psychiatrist. "And still he died."

"Of cancer, twelve years ago."

"I'm sorry." She hadn't meant to say something so cruel, aware the monotone of her doctor had to hide great pain. "I am sorry."

"You love him."

There was no need for Claire to confirm. "I know he makes you come here, that you had a life and a position far more interesting than dealing with me. For that I am sorry, but I don't want to talk to you."

Dr Osin's voice was smooth, focused, "My job remains the same. All potential recruits are analyzed by me before approach. I decide who is fit to serve our cause." There was no pride behind the doctor's next statement. "When it comes to psychology I am the best in the League of Shadows, subsequently the best in the world."

And almost as arrogant as Bane. "Then you must resent this new assignment."

A pencil went back to the pad on the doctor's knee. "That would be petty."

Speaking so their meeting might end, Claire said, "I like running in the woods. We could talk about that."

"Well, Claire, thank you for throwing me a bone. But no. Let's talk about Bane."

Fine; Claire would copy the monotone. "We were married twelve weeks ago. He bought me a diamond I could barter for a small country, which I never wear. So he had a band made for me. He wore black cargo pants and tee-shirt. I wore a green dress I had never seen before and did not choose; he likes to pick my clothes, I have no idea where they come from. We took our vows outside, by that little stream near our house."

"Were you happy?"

It was the first time positive emotion came into Claire' voice at one of her appointments. "Very happy."

"What did you think of Bane the first time you saw him in Gotham."

Those good feelings were swept from under Claire's feet. "He scared me."

"Elaborate, Claire."

Claire snapped, "Everyone I knew was dead or dying. _Everyone_. The streets were a nightmare. Omegas were being ripped in half, slaughtered. Every day we lost more. All my friends... gone. There was no haven, not even when I went to Bane."

"He gave you sanctuary."

"But the Omegas..."

The old woman knew just how to gain a reaction. "You went to save them. They betrayed you."

Claire started shouting, standing from her chair as she paced, "They were starving! Their children and mates murdered before their eyes!"

"And you lost a child."

Instantly deflated, Claire shrank. "No. No no no."

"You lost your son."

"Shut up!"

"You named him Collin. You were hurt so badly you miscarried."

Claire could hardly believe it. "Hurt?"

The doctor adjusted her glasses. "What would you call it?"

She was so fucking tired of the grind. "You know what happened. There is no reason for this!"

"What happened in Gotham, Claire?"

"Bane released a nightmare and they did to me the same thing they did to everyone else."

"What did they do to you?"

She could not say the word, even knowing that was the key to silencing the constant preaching from the old woman. "They're in prison. They can't do it again."

Dr. Osin looked up from her notes. "They are not in prison. Bane executed them personally. They are dead, and died painfully."

Those men had deserved to die. Knowing her mate had done it should have angered her, upset her morals. It didn't. It only made her feel better. "I'm glad."

"Are you?"

There was no need to hesitate in answering. "Yes."

"Why?"

There is no rehabilitation for that kind of evil. "I'll sleep better at night knowing they'll never hurt anyone else."

"How did they hurt you?"

There was some bubbling horror spewing out her mouth she couldn't stop. A terrible name. "Talia... three convicts."

Dr. Osin watched Claire begin to panic, nodding at her to continue.

Claire could hardly choke the words out, "They made a game of it."

"Define it. What happened to you, Claire?"

What happened in Gotham? WHAT HAPPENED IN GOTHAM? Every fucking day she tried to forget, needed _not _to remember, but the bitch doctor wouldn't leave her alone. Bane wouldn't leave her alone. Enough was enough. Claire kicked at the coffee table between them, wood hitting the old woman's shins. Flying from the room, Claire ran so hard it hurt, ran to accuse the one who thought this torment would help her. He needed to see what he'd done, Bane needed to pay! There was no pause at the gates of the compound, no shrinking back from the nearness of strangers.

Angry, _furious_, she bounded toward Bane and started screaming, "They raped me, Bane! Is that what you want to hear so fucking bad? Is that why I have to sit with that horrible woman every day? RAPED! Over and over, in every way, until our baby died, and then they raped me some more! THAT'S WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED IN GOTHAM!"

Dr. Osin had run up behind her, the sound of the woman's footsteps the only noise in the yard. Soldiers seemed stuck where they were, frozen in that horrible moment of time, even Bane.

It seemed to hit Claire, where she was and how she got there. Streams already ran down her cheeks. She was red, heart racing, and the feeling of anguish grew. Sobs started, managing breath was difficult, and then Bane was there giving her a place to hide her face against his chest.

Fingers carded through dark hair, Bane doing his best to keep his voice even. "You will tell me everything that happened, and I will listen. You can scream it if you have to."

She was shaking her head even as she whimpered, "My hands were tied above my head. I was naked on a dirty mattress in a basement down the street from City Hall. Down the street from you. Talia fingered me, said she wished she could stay and watch... I told her I loved you. She laughed."

The fingers in her hair seemed to catch, become claws, but Bane continued petting her as best he could.

"There were three Alphas. They were filthy and smiling. I couldn't feel much the first time from the drugs _you'd _forced on me. I just laid there and pretended I was somewhere else. They didn't like that." The story continued in graphic detail, Bane holding her tight as the yard cleared. Claire told him every last detail she could remember, even some she had forgotten, they'd been buried so deep. By the end of it the sobbing had stopped, her voice was detached, her end of the link settled and pained.

"You did well," Bane said, "Recounting the trauma is vital to your recovery, little one. It will get easier each time you do it, and you will be less afraid."

Eyes vacant, Claire looked up. "Dr. Osin told me you killed them..."

Bane nodded slowly, not at all remorseful.

"I need to see what you did. I need to see them dead."

"No."

"I _need_ to see it, Bane."

"No," he said softer, pleased Claire's bossiness was rearing its head. "Tomorrow you begin self-defense training. That will do you far more good than looking at horrors."

"Did they suffer?"

"Much more than you did."

Claire was not sure how she felt about that, or why deep down, she wished she'd been there to see it. "I don't think I'm a good person anymore."

Arms tightened in their embrace. "You are good, Claire. You're perfect. You're just a little lost right now."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so glad Fanfiction is back up so I could post this for you. Hurrah!<strong>

**Thanks to all you wonderful readers and reviewers. I love you!**

**In all the stories I'm working on right now, both fanfiction and original works on fictionpress, a lot a people are asking me what my update schedule is. It's a bit complicated to answer with seven stories going at once. Basically, I update several times a week (usually), but most of my updates are for my original works. I LOVE writing fanfiction, but if I ever want to get published I have to focus on characters that are mine and mine alone. I would say that Sigil and the Dark Side of the Sun are getting the majority of my attention right now, followed by Swallow it Down. The rest of these fics I try to squeeze in as often as I can. Here is the list should you want to check on updates:**

**FAN FICTION:**

**A Night By My Fire:** Of all the people to be dragged into Crane's courts never, never, did Bane expect to see her. fanfiction DOT net/s/10710578/1/A-Night-By-My-Fire

**Born to be Yours (Sequel to BTBB):** Bane has her, he has Claire... but Claire isn't Claire anymore. She's broken. Fanfiction DOT net/s/10938148/1/Born-to-be-Yours

**Swallow it Down** (Guardians of the Galaxy): When Ronan the Accuser is rejected a Kree of his standing refuses to have anything less than his way. He plots, he ruins… and the tide of judgment smashes down upon her until she drowns in it. (Ronan/OC) fanfiction DOT net/s/10687860/1/Swallow-it-Down

**ORIGINAL FICTION:**

**Sigil:** Sovereign and his empire have hunted her for a century. Sigil runs, fights her urge to consummate the function she's been designed for - assassinating the very creature who won't leave her in peace. When he corners her she learns her creation, her programming, were lies. He hasn't come to kill her, he's come to claim her. **(Sci fi, Very M RATED)** fictionpress DOT com/s/3210723/1/Sigil

**Dark Side of the Sun**: He promises her freedom from her oppressive title and horrific past, as long as her very person is in his control. But he lies. Harrow wants so much more than Arabella's body. His past is dark, even darker than hers, and the limits he will go to scare her to such a point she fears what it is he's really after. (**Regency Era**) fictionpress DOT com/s/3214423/1/Dark-Side-of-the-Sun

**A Trick of the Light**: It had been devastatingly simple to shut off the horror, pull on her dead brother's clothes, take his job… become him. Formative years neck deep in prohibition era gangland fashioned her, living as a man protected her, and hunting down the monster who'd ruined her life defined her. But not anymore. Hair bobbed, lips rouged, Charlie started fresh, ready to learn how to be a woman. (**Prohibition era**) fictionpress DOT com/s/3208749/1/A-Trick-of-the-Light


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